Hadrian (l. 78-138 CE) was emperor of Rome (r. 117-138 CE) and is recognized as the third of the Five Good Emperors (Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius) who ruled justly. His reign marked the height of the Roman Empire, usually given as c. 117 CE, and provided a firm foundation for his successor.
Of all his significant monuments and buildings, Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain is the most famous. Construction of the wall, known in antiquity as Vallum Hadriani, was begun around 122 CE and corresponded to Hadrian's visit to the province. It marked the northern boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain, but the length and breadth of the project (stretching, as it did, from coast to coast) suggests that the more important purpose of the wall was a show of Rome's power.
Hadrian’s handling of the Bar-Kochba Revolt is the one dark stain on his otherwise admirable reign, but he made his choices based on traditional Roman policy in handling revolts: a harsh response followed by restoration. He may have taken his response as far as he did from personal outrage that anyone would have had a problem with his temple or any of his other decisions.
— CHAPTERS — 0:00 Introduction 0:56 Early Life of Hadrian 3:28 Hadrian as the Emperor of Rome 5:17 Hadrian's Wall 6:26 Hadrian and Antinuous 8:53 Jerusalem and Revolt 10:34 Death and Legacy of Hadrian 11:46 Outro
Did you know that the Emperor Hadrian was well known for his violent temper?
Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about
the restless Roman Emperor who spent more time traveling than he did in Rome. Today we are
looking at the life and reign of Hadrian. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving
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Hadrian was born in the town of Italica, Hispania, known today as Seville in Spain,
and grew up well-educated as a son of upper-class Romans. At 10 his father died and Hadrian was sent
to a school in Rome under the care of Trajan who would soon become the next Emperor of Rome.
Trajan's wife Platina was fond of the young Hadrian and she encouraged him in his keen interest
in Greek poetry and culture. Hadrian admired Greece so ardently that he is even now often
mistakenly identified as being Greek or of Grecian lineage. Under the Emperor Nerva who
reigned between 96 and 98 CE, Hadrian was a tribune as his first stint in the military
and was selected for the important job of telling Trajan that he was Nerva's successor.
Trajan, as the next Emperor of Rome, was actually the first Emperor to have been born in the
provinces and although later biographers tried to place the birth of both Trajan and Hadrian
in the city of Rome, they were both born in modern-day Spain. In 117 CE Trajan died while
on campaign and at the time of his death, while Hadrian was in command of the rear guard,
it's not believed that Trajan had actually named a successor. It was actually Platina who signed
the papers of succession claiming that Trajan had selected Hadrian. So although it is known
that Trajan respected Hadrian and considered him his successor, he had not named him officially as
his heir and it seems Platina was responsible for the adoption of Hadrian. At about 100 CE there
seems to have been some sort of dispute between the two men and although there is no documentation
for it, after the argument Trajan refused to elevate Hadrian's rank and the positions he did
give the boy just so happened to remove him from the Emperor's immediate circle. It has been
suggested that the rift was caused by Hadrian seducing or trying to seduce one of the Emperor's
favorite young men but this is just speculation. Lucky for Hadrian though, Platina was a driving
force behind his advancement and both Platina and Trajan's niece Salonia Metidia pushed for
Since Hadrian preferred the company of men, his marriage never really flourished and he was a
much better ruler than he was a husband. As a man who had served in the military prior to becoming
Emperor of Rome in 117 CE, he already had the support of the army upon his ascension to the
throne. Hadrian was embraced by the people of Rome and was greatly admired throughout his reign. He
continued to be highly regarded even though he spent 12 of his 21 years as ruler outside of Rome,
something that other emperors were criticized harshly for like Nero who spent far less time
away from the city than Hadrian did. Hadrian showed his devotion to his army by sleeping
and eating with the common soldiers and even though his reign was marked by relative peace,
he was often depicted in military attire. Since the empire was fairly stable during his reign,
Hadrian spent much of his time visiting the provinces of Rome and inspecting the projects
he had commissioned, the projects that have become probably his most enduring legacy.
Hadrian established cities, improved roads, raised monuments and strengthened the infrastructure in
Roman provinces of Egypt, Asia Minor, North Africa, Greece and through the Balkan Peninsula.
He ended up visiting Greece twice and during one of those times he was initiated into the
Eleusinian Mysteries and in his honor the Arch of Hadrian was constructed by the Athenian citizens
in 131 and 132 CE for his substantial contributions to the city like the Temple of Zeus.
Back in Rome, Hadrian had the Pantheon rebuilt after it was destroyed by fire as well as Trajan's
Forum and commissioned the building of many villas and Roman baths. No building project of
Hadrian's is as famous as his wall known in antiquity as Valum Hadriani but famously known
today as Hadrian's Wall in England. The construction of this wall began when he visited Britannia in
122 CE after a revolt had been put down and it was built in order to stop the northern Picts
from easily invading his territory. It worked as a marker for the northern point boundary of Rome in
Britain but its sheer length and breadth was intended more as a show of Rome's power than a
fortified boundary. Hadrian's Wall stretched across 120 kilometers or 73 miles and took six years to
build. Along the wall there were 16 or 17 fortifications and a ditch purposely constructed
of earthworks and known as a Valum which ran parallel along the length of the wall. The wall
was initially plastered and whitewashed and was thought to represent the might of the empire and
Hadrian's foreign policy of peace through strength. After visiting Britannia, Hadrian traveled to Asia
Minor and while in the region of Bithynia in 123 CE either in Nicomedia or Claudiopolis he met
the young Antinous who became his constant companion. Antinous would have been somewhere
between 13 and 15 years old at this time but the same-sex relationship between a younger and older
man was accepted in Rome as long as it was consensual. For the next seven years they were
Hadrian sent Antinous to a boarding school in Rome that trained him for life in court and between
125 and 130 the two of them lived in Hadrian's villa in Rome while the two weren't traveling the
provinces. Antinous accompanied Hadrian on his travels and in October of 130 they arrived in
Egypt for the festival of Osiris. At the end of the month Antinous drowned in the Nile and although
Hadrian reported it as an accident historians have claimed that the youth sacrificed himself
in a ritual to cure Hadrian of an unknown illness. This latter claim is strengthened by the policy
that Antinous as Hadrian's beloved would have been accompanied by servants who would have surely
Hadrian's grief over the death of his lover was overwhelming and he immediately had the youth
deified which was somewhat unprecedented since usually you would have to submit the suggestion
for the senate to approve. Hadrian went further and had a city named Antinopolis built in his
honor and very quickly a cult around Antinous grew in the city and spread throughout the provinces.
He was seen as a dying and reviving god and was thought since he was once human to be quicker at
responding to supplications than other deities. His likeness was raised in temples and shrines
and of the estimated 2,000 statues of Antinous that once graced the empire 117 have been recovered.
His cult grew to be so popular that even 200 years later it rivaled both the well-established cult of
Isis and the new religion of Christianity. Hadrian continued to travel through the provinces
dealing with his grief. Despite being well educated and known for his policy of peaceful relations
he was equally well known for losing his temper. He lost patience with scholars at court and even
accidentally blinded a servant in one eye when he threw his stylus at him in rage. This kind
of outburst became infamous during his time in Jerusalem. Hadrian visited the city in 132 CE.
The city was in ruins still after the first Roman-Jewish war and so he had the city rebuilt
and named it after himself and the king of the Roman gods Aelia Capitolina Jupiter Capitolinus.
But when he built a temple to Jupiter on the ruins of a temple of Solomon that was considered
sacred by the Jews they rose in revolt under the leader of Simon Bar Kokhba in what has become
known as the Bar Kokhba revolt. Hadrian became so enraged he ordered the revolt crushed sparing
no one not even those too young or too old to have participated. Both the Romans and the Jews
lost massive numbers in this war with the Jewish losses numbering 580,000 by the time the revolt
was put down. Over 1,000 towns and villages were destroyed and if that wasn't enough Hadrian had
the remaining Jewish population banished from the region and then renamed it Syria Palestina
after the traditional enemies of the Jewish people the Philistines. Hadrian even ordered a
public burning of the Torah executed Jewish scholars and prohibited the practice of Judaism.
After the revolt Hadrian returned to Rome in failing health and spent his time writing poetry
and handling administrative affairs. He named Antoninus Pius as his successor as long as he
in turn adopted the young Marcus Aurelius. In 138 CE Hadrian died at the age of 62 presumably of a
heart attack. He was originally buried on the grounds of the former estate of the rhetorician
Cicero because of Hadrian's love of learning but after Antoninus Pius finished the great tomb of
Hadrian a year later Hadrian was cremated and interred with his wife and adopted son Lucius
Aelius Caesar who was the father of Lucius Verus who co-ruled with Marcus Aurelius for a time.
Hadrian was later deified and temples were built in honor of the man whose people continued to
Why do you think Hadrian was such a popular emperor? Let us know what you think in the
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